BY SHERI GASSAWAY
correspondent
Sponsors and exhibitors are needed for the Build My Future STL 2023 career fair, which offers students the opportunity to experience a day in the construction industry through an interactive showcase.
The event, sponsored by the Home Builders Association (HBA) of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri and the Francis Howell School District, will be held on April 26-27, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Charles Family Arena for students and am April 26 from 3pm to 5pm for the general public.
2023 will be the second year for the Expo. Last year’s event featured hands-on exhibits and virtual reality simulations from nearly 60 local organizations specializing in architecture, construction, masonry, heavy equipment, tiling, welding and more.
“Last year, 800 students from 35 schools attended, and for a first-year event, we were incredibly pleased with the outcome and the enthusiasm of the students,” said Kelley Pfieffer of HBA in St. Louis & Eastern Missouri.
This October, Missouri’s Associated General Contractors (AGC) (a sponsor of Build My Future STL) is also hosting several Build My Future events for high school students across the state, including one for Ferguson on October 12. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m p.m. at St. Louis Community College in the Florissant Valley. Visit agcmo.org or call Charlyce Ruth for more information at 417-425-3390.
For the 2023 event, Build My Future STL invited students from 205 schools across the seven Missouri counties that the HBA serves, as well as students from Metro East schools. In addition, the event was extended to two days and opened to the public for a few hours.
“As we invite more students, we decided to make it a two-day event so we can accommodate everyone,” Pfieffer said. “We are also opening the event to the public so that students who are interested in a specific construction trade can bring their parents back and others interested in the construction industry can attend.”
Organizations interested in sponsoring the show or becoming an exhibitor can visit agcmo.org or contact Pfeiffer at 314-817-5633. Event set-up for 2023 exhibitors will take place on Tuesday 25 April and final set-up is allowed between 7am and 8am on the day of the event.
The idea for Build My Future was born in 2014 in Springfield, Missouri, out of a shared desire by industry professionals to fix the dwindling workforce pipeline and lack of interest in craft trades. Today, Build My Future is the largest event of its kind in the country and is now held annually in 10 states.
